Improvement in machines for printing pills



W. R. WARNER. Machine for Printing Pills.

Patefited Feb. 19, 1878.

-[m 621 60) William B Mme) 21y his C(Zlomey (/fimwm/ Wm RPETERS,PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

WILLIAM R. WARNER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.-

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR PRINTING PILLS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 200,589, dated February19, 1878 application filed November 26, 1877.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of my pill-printin g machine; Fig. 2, thesame, showingthe slide in a different position; Fig. 3, a'plan view;Fig. 4, a transverse vertical section on the line -1 2, Fig. 2; Fig. 5,an exterior side view, drawn to an enlarged scale, of one end of themachine; and Fig. 6, an enlarged view, showing one of the grooves inwhich the pill is rolled during the operation of printing.

The box-like base A of the machine has at one end a compartment, to, forcontaining'a supply of pills at the other end a compartment, 1),containing inking-rollers d (Z and e,- and between these compartments isthe bed f, in the upper surface of which are a series of longitudinalV-shaped groovessix, in the present instancethe sides of these groovesbeing preferably clothed with rubber. B is a slide, which can be movedto and fro on the base, being guided thereon by side strips; and on the1111-- the opposite ends of which pass through and are guided byvertical slots m in'the opposite sides of the box, the slots being toonarrow to permit the pills to pass through them. One face of thetriangular bar is in contact with the rear of the bed f, and in theupper edge .of

the bar are cut as many inclined and concave notches as there aregrooves in the bed, one notch coinciding with each groove.

A vertical reciprocating motion is imparted to the bar E, either by handor from the slide, through the medium of the devices describedhereinafter, or other suitable mechanism. When the bar is depressed itsinclined lower edge will displace the pills in the reservoir to until itreaches the position shown in Fig. 2,

when the notches will form a series of pockets,

each containing a pill, which is retained in place by the rear of thebed. When the bar is elevated it will carry up with it as many pills asthere are pockets, each pocket being just large enough to receive onepill, and when the barhas reached the elevated position shown in Fig. 1the pills will roll from the pockets into the V-shaped grooves of thebed, one pill in each groove, after which the barmay be again depressed,so as to be out of the way of the slide, the printing-plates of whichhave been previously inked, and which may now be moved forward, so thateach inked plate will act on one of the pills, and, while it rolls thelatter along the grooves, will impart the defar that its printing-plateswill come in con tact with the inking-rollers, and thus receivesufficient ink for printing the surfaces of another batch of pills.

It is important that the grooves should be V-shaped, so that in rollingthe pills along them the printed matter shall not be smeared by contactwith the bed.

In the present instance, the flanges q q of the slide, which overhangthe base, are pro vided with teeth t, adapted to those of the wheels M,one of which is hung to a stationary pin on each side of the box, theteeth of the wheels gearing into those of racks to, one of which issecured to each end of the triangular bar E. When the slide has reachedthe'limit of its rearward movement the gearing described will be in theposition Fig. 5; but on moving the slide forward the triangular bar ingprinting or indenting surfaces to roll the pills under pressure, in themanner set forth.

.2. A pill-printing machine in which a bed with a series of V-shapedgrooves is combined with a slide carrying the printing or indentingplates, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of the bed and its series of V-shaped grooves withthe pill-reservoir a and the notched bar E, to which a verticalreciprocating motion may be imparted, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the slide and its printing or indenting plateswith the bed having V- shaped grooves, the sides of which are clothedwith rubber or other equivalent yielding material, all substantially asspecified.

5. The combination of the grooved bed, the slide, and the reciprocatingtransverse bar E with mechanism, substantially as described, through themedium of which the slide is caused to operate the bar, in the mannerset forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM R. WARNER.

Witnesses:

H. A. CRAWFORD, HARRY SMITH.

